Chapter 63
The fries Lin Qingqing made were different from the KFC fries in later generations. The fries she made were made from sweet potatoes, and they were sweet.
The method of making sweet potato fries was very simple. Cut the peeled sweet potatoes into strips, and then put them into boiling water to cook. It didn't take too long. When they were half-cooked, they could be picked up and set aside to dry.
Then, use flour, eggs, sugar, and water to mix the flour paste. After mixing, put the dried sweet potatoes in, roll them around, and then fry them in oil.
The fried fries were not only sweet, but also quite sticky because they were filled with sweet potatoes.
Lin Qingqing liked to eat this kind of fries in later generations. Maybe she was tired of potato fries and wanted to change her taste.
"Mom, it smells so good." Lu Haici stood aside and watched, occasionally looking at the fire in the stove, but more attention was paid to the food.
Smells so good? Lin Qingqing didn't smell the fragrance at all. But she knew the little boy was hungry. "It will be ready soon. Mom will go to work after frying. Do you want to go with her? Or go to play with your friends Ji Yang and Qin Ming?"
Lu Haici thought for a while: "I want to play with Qin Ming and Ji Yang. I will come to the cafeteria to find Mom when it's time to eat."
Lin Qingqing: "Okay." She knew that the child wanted to show off.
Ten big sweet potatoes make a lot of French fries, but Lin Qingqing didn't finish them all. She only cut five sweet potato strips into French fries, and planned to make the remaining five tomorrow.
The freshly fried French fries were a little hot. Lin gently picked up one and blew on it, then handed it to Lu Haici: "Eat slowly, it's a little hot, be careful not to burn your mouth."
Lu Haici blew on it a few times: "I know."
Lin smiled softly and put the remaining French fries into the basket. "I put all these on the table. If you want to eat, take them yourself, but you have to eat slowly." She had to go to the cafeteria at about the same time. She was supposed to pay Yu Xiuyao and the others in the afternoon, but it was too late and she could only wait until the evening.
All of this... was caused by Lu Cheng. He had nothing to do but to play with his son.
Lu Haici stared at the French fries in the Taoba. He didn't even follow his mother when she was leaving, but he still remembered to say, "Goodbye, Mom."
Lin shook her head gently. Every child is like this. When there is food, parents have to stand aside. When she left, she still closed the kitchen and went to the third company's kitchen.
After his mother left, Lu Haici stood by the table, staring at the French fries in the Taoba. Not only staring, he also blew at the Taoba with his mouth, trying to make the French fries not burn.
Lu Haici blew for a long time, then went to the room to take out his small schoolbag, then picked up the lunch box prepared on the side, put the French fries into the lunch box one by one, and then put the lunch box into the small schoolbag. After installing, his two hands were not idle. He grabbed a few French fries each and finally went out.
Lu Haici went to the next door first. He saw that Ji Yang's door was closed and called out loudly several times: "Ji Yang... Ji Yang..." In fact, Lu Haici also guessed that Ji Yang was not at home. If Ji Yang was there, he would have come to find him when he came back from the supply and marketing cooperative just now.
Ji Yang was not there, so Lu Haici went to find Qin Ming again. If it were before, Lu Haici only had Ji Yang as a friend, and he would definitely go home if he couldn't find Ji Yang, but now, he has other little friends. Especially Qin Ming also played Chen Zhou with him, and the friendship of the little men was played out in this way.
Lu Haici ate French fries while skipping towards Qin Ming's house.
"Lu Haici, where are you going?" A kindergarten kid met him on the road and ran over to say hello.
Lu Haici took a bite of French fries and said, "I'm going to play with Qin Ming."
"Qin Ming and Ji Yang are playing with a ball in the playground." The kid said.
"Playing with a ball?" Lu Haici was stunned. "What ball?"
"Football, it's the first time I've seen it, but Qin Ming won't let us play. Do you want to go?"
"I'll go and see." Lu Haici knew where the playground was. There was also a playground in the family compound, and there was a large empty space there. Lu Haici and Ji Yang had also played there.
"I'll go with you." The kid said.
Lu Haici nodded.
"Lu Haici, what are you eating?" The kid asked curiously.
Lu Haici said: "I'm making French fries, French fries made by my mom." He thought for a moment and gave a French fry to the child.
The child took the French fry and took a small bite. It was crispy at first, then soft and sticky, but both were sweet. Like...dough sticks, but they are salty. "Lu Haici, this looks like a small fried dough stick." The child had also eaten fried dough sticks, so he had this idea.
Lu Haici had also eaten fried dough sticks, and when he heard the child say this, he also found it a bit hard to resemble. "Well, it looks like a small fried dough stick, but this is called French fries."
"Why are they called French fries?" the child asked curiously.
Lu Haici didn't know why it was called French fries, but he was good at thinking. He thought about it and found a suitable answer: "Because it is made of sweet potatoes, and it comes in strips, so it is called French fries."
Even if the child eats slowly, a French fry is so small that it will be gone in a moment. He asked: "Lu Haici, can you give me another one? I have peanuts at home, I will exchange peanuts with you."
Lu Haici said: "Okay." He gave the child another French fry.
"Lu Haici, your mother is so nice." The child envied Lu Haici. When he was in kindergarten, Lu Haici's mother would prepare food for him and give him candy every day. Now that he is on vacation, she also gives him French fries. His mother is so nice, and he also wants to have a mother like this.
"Well, my mom is the best mom in the world." Lu Haici always thought so.
"Your mom is good, your dad is good too, your dad will send you to school, my dad never sends me to school." The child also wanted to be like a heroic dad who would send him to school, but when he saw his dad, he was a little scared and didn't dare to say anything.
Speaking of dad, Lu Haici thought of the ice cream that his dad took away, and he was immediately unhappy: "My dad is bad, he ate my ice cream, he is the most annoying."
"Ah? What is ice cream? Is it delicious? Is it as delicious as French fries?" The child was attracted again when he heard about food.
Lu Haici: "It's delicious. Ice cream is just popsicles, but it's different from sugar popsicles. This one has a nice smell inside, just like milk powder."
Child: "I like milk powder too. It's delicious, fragrant and sweet."
Lu Haici: "The sesame paste made by my mother is also delicious, fragrant and sweet. The tofu pudding made by my mother is also delicious..."
The canteen of the third company's kitchen squad
"Comrade Lin, have you told Deputy Regiment Commander Lu about the cooking class's food competition on National Day?" Qi Shao came to Lin Qingqing's side, remembered this matter, and asked casually.
"No, what's the matter?" Lin Qingqing had completely forgotten about it.
Qi Shao said: "I mentioned this matter to other cooking class leaders of our independent regiment during lunch break today. Everyone is interested in participating, but they don't know what it means."
Although Lin Qingqing forgot about this matter, she was still interested. After all, there are too few programs in this era. "Okay, I'll ask him tonight. By the way, Squad Leader Qi, I'll give you the money for the wood ash, and you can use it to buy mung beans. The weather is hot now, so you can prepare mung bean soup for lunch every day." Lin Qingqing calculated the price of the wood ash based on a profit of half a cent per kilogram of food. For 1,680 kilograms of food, it would cost 8.4 yuan in total.
Qi Shao was stunned when he saw 8.4 yuan. Why
is it so much? This wood ash is not worth the money. Lin Qingqing said, "If it's more, just consider it as my thanks to the comrades for defending the country. How much is a kilogram of mung beans now?"
Qi Shao knew that he often purchased it. "Six cents a kilogram."
"Then 8.4 yuan can buy 140 kilograms." Lin Qingqing quickly calculated.
Qi Shao looked at her. He really didn't want to accept the money, but he had been with Lin Qingqing for a week and knew that Lin Qingqing was a person with her own ideas. In that case, he accepted it. "Then I thank Comrade Lin on behalf of the comrades of the Independent Group."
Lin Qingqing said, "I should thank you on behalf of the common people."
It was almost time for dinner. Lu Haici came back, bringing Ji Yang and Qin Ming with him. The three children's faces were covered with sweat, but everyone smiled particularly brightly.
"Mom, we are here to eat." Lu Haici called out to the window.
Lin Qingqing was watching from the window. Seeing them sweating, she couldn't help asking, "What did you do this afternoon? Why are you sweating?"
Qin Ming said, "We went to play ball. My mother bought me a football from the department store."
Qian Yuelan seldom went back to the family compound, but she came back frequently in the past few days. She was afraid that if she didn't come back, her mother-in-law would look for her husband. In order to please her son, she also bought him a lot of good things. The purpose was to let her mother-in-law see that although she had never changed her son's diaper, she really loved him.
"You are really amazing. You can play football." She praised with a smile.
Hearing her praise, the three children immediately felt very proud. They straightened their chests one by one. "Auntie's French fries are really delicious. Lu Haici gave us French fries today." Qin Ming said cleverly.
Ji Yang also said, "Yeah, they are delicious. Lu Haici also said that ice cream is delicious. We want to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy ice cream tomorrow. Today Qin Ming invited us to play football, Lu Haici invited us to eat French fries, and tomorrow I will treat them to ice cream." Xu Huijuan earned money and gave Ji Yang pocket money, so Ji Yang had the confidence to treat everyone to ice cream.
But the question is: "How do you go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy ice cream?"
"We walk there. I know where the supply and marketing cooperative is." Qin Ming said.
"I also know where the supply and marketing cooperative is." Lu Haici also said.
Lin Qingqing looked at them and didn't know how to react. These three little guys were so ambitious that they dared to walk to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy ice cream. "The supply and marketing cooperative is far away, you can't walk there, I'll take you there on the weekend." As it happened, she also wanted to go there to eat.
"Really? Thank you, auntie."
Lin Qingqing: "Okay, now you go to eat first." They played for the whole afternoon, and they must be hungry. If they don't eat, the comrades from the third company will come to grab the food.
In fact, not long after they had their meal, the comrades from the third company came.
Lu Haici saw his father's voice, and when his father passed by, he hummed, in case his father couldn't hear, he hummed especially loudly.
Ji Yang thought that Lu Haici had a nose discomfort, so he asked in a particularly considerate way: "Lu Haici, is your nose blocked?" When he had a cold, his nose was blocked and he often hummed.
"No." Lu Haici said.
"Then why are you humming?"
"My nose is uncomfortable." Ji Yang was so annoying, why did he ask.
Lu Cheng passed by his son without even giving him a look. The little bastard dared to hum at him, his butt was itchy. But when he thought about eating two ice creams at noon, he was in a good mood. It is only natural for a father to eat his son's food. What about taking care of his old age? It has to start from now.
Lu Cheng's good mood has lasted for a whole afternoon. However, it didn't last until Lin Qingqing got off work.
Lin Qingqing cleaned up the cafeteria and went home as usual. Although she had said many things to Lu Cheng, telling him not to wait for her, Lu Cheng didn't listen, and Lin Qingqing had no choice.
"By the way, Lu Cheng, Haici cried this afternoon, and I don't know who he had a fight with. He wouldn't tell me when I asked him." The family of three was walking on the road, and Lin Qingqing suddenly brought up this matter.
Lu Cheng paused.
Lin Qingqing said again: "You are both gay, why don't you ask him tonight?"
Lu Cheng pursed his lips: "Okay."
Lin Qingqing: "Then ask and tell me, if Haici is wrong, we have to go to his house and apologize to him. If it is someone else's fault, we have to seek justice for Haici."
Lu Cheng: "...Okay."
Lu Haici blinked his eyes. It was his father who bullied him in the afternoon, so why did his mother ask his father? But the smart Lu Haici didn't ask aloud.
Lin teased Lu Cheng lightly and then got down to business: "Didn't I go to the supply and marketing cooperative to settle the account for June today? The total was 109.2 yuan, for a total of 1,680 kilograms. Then I gave 8.4 to the canteen based on the profit of half a cent per kilogram. Qi Shao didn't want it, but I was thinking of using the money to buy some mung beans and cook mung bean soup for my comrades. Do you think it's feasible? Will it have any impact on you?"
"It won't have any impact." Lu Cheng said, "Strictly speaking, you are buying people's hearts for me."
"I'm not." Lin blushed and immediately denied it. She really didn't think about buying people's hearts when she did it. She just didn't want to take advantage of the wood ash and didn't want anyone to gossip about her about it.
Lu Cheng chuckled: "Yeah, I know." He also knew that she would consider him when doing things.
Lin Qingqing rarely saw him laugh, and suddenly heard his laughter, and looked at him curiously. Coincidentally, he looked at her with his eyes, and she immediately looked away. "Well... I haven't paid Aunt Xiuyao and the others' wages today. You will go to pay them later. After paying, I will still have about 75 yuan left. Didn't you say that you would go buy things for the Lin family and your aunt on the weekend? What do you think we should buy for them?" Her heart was beating a little faster, so she couldn't help but speak a little faster.
"Just make your decision." Lu Cheng has retracted his gaze, looking ahead with an uneasy look. If time could stop at this moment, it would be nice.
"Can you get some milk powder tickets?" Lin Qingqing remembered what she had said to Director Ma about milk powder at noon. "Hai Ci is still young, and milk powder is good for children. I also want to buy milk powder from the Lin family and your aunt to replenish their bodies." Clothes are not as good as food. For them, replenishing the body and staying healthy are the most important.
Lu Cheng said, "I'll go ask if I can get some, but I may not be able to get much for a while."
Lin Qingqing: "That's okay, I can save it first."
Lu Cheng: "Okay, I'll listen to you."
After returning home, Lin Qingqing took the account book and went to find Yu Xiuyao.
It was actually still early at this time, not even seven o'clock. Yu Xiuyao had dinner and was chatting with her neighbors at the door of her house when she saw Lin Qingqing coming over. "Qingqing, why are you here?"
Lin Qingqing said, "I came to talk to my sister-in-law about something." She also greeted the woman next to her, "Hello, sister-in-law."
"Hello, hello..." Comrade Lin Qingqing, a celebrity in the family compound, was a neighbor of Yu Xiuyao, so she certainly knew about her. She also knew that the ingredients that Yu Xiuyao and her friends were washing were related to Lin Qingqing, because she had also seen Lin Qingqing when she came to deliver the seasoning. But she didn't know more deeply. Although she asked Yu Xiuyao out of curiosity, Yu Xiuyao would not reveal this matter.
Yu Xiuyao greeted her neighbors and brought Lin Qingqing into the house.
After entering the house, Lin Qingqing took out the account book: "Sister-in-law, I went to the supply and marketing cooperative to settle the accounts at noon today. I will check with your account book first to see if there are any problems."
Yu Xiuyao herself can't do the accounting, so she handed it over to her son Dawang, but she would ask Dawang every day. Now that Lin Qingqing came to check the accounts, she called Dawang and brought the account book.
Lin Qingqing continued: "We received a total of 1,680 kilograms of ingredients in June, of which, sister-in-law, you received 525 kilograms, and the other sisters-in-law received 385 kilograms, right?"
Yu Xiuyao and the others divided the ingredients equally, so that no one would have to fight for them, and no one would have to have conflicts. Lin Qingqing thought this way of dividing was very good.
Yu Xiuyao looked at Dawang: "Is your aunt right?"
Dawang said: "Yes, it's the same as what I registered."
Lin Qingqing continued: "According to the original statement, my sister-in-law makes a profit of one and a half cents per catty, so for 525 catties, I should get 7.9 yuan. Plus, my sister-in-law is the team leader, and I..."
"Wait..." Yu Xiuyao interrupted Lin Qingqing, "Qingqing, everyone else makes a profit of one cent per catty. It's not good for you to give me a profit of one and a half cents per catty. I'd better take a profit of one cent per catty. Otherwise, if it gets out, it won't be good for you."
Lin Qingqing said: "If you don't say it and I don't say it, they won't know."
Yu Xiuyao still said firmly: "No, no, I'll still take the profit of one cent per catty."
Lin Qingqing knew that a cheerful person like Yu Xiuyao would sometimes be very persistent. So she thought about it and said, "How about this, sister-in-law, I won't give you the subsidy for being a team leader, nor will I give you the subsidy for delivering and picking up goods every month. You will be treated the same as a team leader, 1.5 cents per kilogram, so that others will not have any opinions. Even if they have opinions, there must be a difference between a team leader and an ordinary person. Even in the factory, ordinary workers are divided into different levels, don't you think?"
Yu Xiuyao sighed. She knew that Lin Qingqing had made such an arrangement, and she still took advantage of it. She thought that she could only repay Lin Qingqing's trust if she did her job well. "Okay, that's it."
Lin gently handed Yu Xiuyao 7.9 yuan: "The other three sisters-in-law weigh 385 kilograms each, and the profit is 1 cent per kilogram, which is 3.9 yuan. Among them, Sister Cui has a bicycle, so she goes with you to deliver and pick up goods every day. We agreed before that she will get a subsidy of 2 yuan per month. This month has only eight days, so I will calculate it based on half a month and give her a subsidy of 1 yuan, so she will get 4.9 yuan. You calculate it, is there any problem?"
Yu Xiuyao looked at her son.
Da Wang said, "It should be 3.85 yuan per person, and my aunt gave 3.9 yuan."
Lin Qingqing said, "It's okay. If there is a division in the future, just move one forward."
Yu Xiuyao said, "Just do as your sister-in-law said."
Da Wang: "Then there is no problem, it all matches."
Lin Qingqing took out 12.7 yuan from the other three sisters-in-law and handed it to Yu Xiuyao: "Sister-in-law, you go and divide their money. I won't go over."
Yu Xiuyao considered herself the team leader, so it was her duty: "Okay, leave this to me."
"By the way, I bought some defective cloth at the supply and marketing cooperative today. Sister-in-law, you can ask other sisters-in-law. If you are short of cloth, you can come to my house tomorrow at noon." Lin Qingqing thought of this.
Yu Xiuyao was happy when she heard this: "Then I'll ask them later."
After the discussion, Lin Qingqing didn't stay for long: "Then I'll go back."
Yu Xiuyao felt uncomfortable holding other people's money, so she said: "I'll give them money, let's go together."
That night, Lin Qingqing and the other four female comrades were particularly happy and satisfied. With money in hand, you have the confidence to do anything.
For example, Yu Xiuyao, because the salted duck eggs are not ready yet, this income has not been received. But from Lin Qingqing, she can also earn 20 to 30 yuan every month, which is higher than the average worker. As a housewife all her life, she has never thought about this.
There are other sisters-in-law who earn about 4 yuan every seven or eight days, which is 12 yuan a month. Even if the family expenses are paid by the husband, they can save 12 yuan of private money every month, so after getting the money, they think about buying meat tomorrow.
The happiest one is Lin Qingqing. After she settled everyone's accounts, she found that she still had 80.2 yuan. With the salary paid by the third company's kitchen team, she earned a total of 83.2 yuan last month. Although this money cannot be compared with her income as a host, Lin Qingqing feels that this makes her happier than the income of being a host.
Lin Qingqing took a bath happily and found that Lu Haici was not in her room. She curiously went to the next room and saw Lu Haici lying on the bed reading a book. She asked: "Lu Haici, aren't you sleeping with mom today?"
Lu Haici raised his head from the book: "Mom, I'm sleeping with dad today, and I'll sleep with you tomorrow."
Lin Qingqing couldn't believe it for a moment. Maybe it was because Lu Haici had been sleeping with her since she came into the book. This little guy suddenly changed and she couldn't adapt. But she smiled and said: "Okay, then I'll wait for you tomorrow."
Turning around, Lin Qingqing went to ask Lu Cheng.
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